Slack is aiming to file its listing prospectus this week

Slack, a workplace instant messaging app, is said to be debuting on the New York Stock Exchange in May or June this year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The move will be ahead of earlier speculations of the messaging app directly listing its shares in June or July. The firm had opted for a direct listing instead of raising capital through an initial public offering (IPO).

In February, Slack had confidentially submitted its filing to regulators for a direct listing on the stock market, and according to The Wall Street Journal, it is aiming to make the document available by this Friday.

The paperwork will show that Slack is on track to reach a revenue of about US$500 million for this year, the sources who told the paper said.

Slack, which makes chat software for businesses, was valued at US$7.1 billion by private investors last year.

Recent private sales of Slack stock have pushed the business to a valuation of about US$16 billion, said Bloomberg, which is more than double its last private funding valuation.

Shareholders have been said to have sold stock to private buyers in the last two months for shares at a range of US$24 or US$27 per share.

Bumper year for tech unicorn IPOs and debuts

2019 is a year where many tech unicorns are slated to or have already made their debut on the public market.

Ride-hailing firm Lyft debuted at US$72 per share after much hype was generated and its IPO price was placed at the top end of its price range, assigning it a valuation of US$24 billion in an offering that raised US$2.34 billion.

But Lyft’s share price tunnelled down quickly on concerns on the tech firm’s profitability. Lyft’s shares fell by 4.03% to US$57.82 on Wednesday's close.

Social network sharing app Pinterest, meanwhile, debuted on Wall Street last week, pricing its offering at US$19 per share, and as of yesterday's close, the stock has risen to US$26.80. The firm had initially set a range for its public shares to be below the company’s last private-market valuation, after witnessing Lyft’s drastic debut.

Pinterest’s current share price has since exceeded its earlier private-market valuation.

Tech giant Uber filed for its IPO this month and is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May. The ride-hailing firm is said to be planning to sell around US$10 billion worth of stock at a valuation of between US$90 billion and US$100 billion.